Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1887-08-27
Az Fearful Tragedy.
DISCLOSED IN NEW YORK THROUGH THE
MEDIUM OF A BAD sMELI,--Two woM-
EN- FOUND DEAD IN BED.

DISCLOSED IN NEW YORK THROUGH THE
MEDIUM OF A BAD sMELI--Two woM-
EN- FOUND DEAD IN BED.
New York, Aug. 20.--A disgust
ing stencil has filled the tenement,
No. 81 Charles street, for the past
few days, and yesterday it grew so
bad chat Mrs. Fronkeim, the house
keeper, notified the police. She be-
lieved the smell came from a pail of
garbage in the room on the second
floor, occupied by Mrs. Melvinah
Payne and her daughter, Anna. On
Monday last the women had been
seen closing up the shutters and it
vas thought they had gone to the
country. The report to the police
brought no response, and this fore
noon the stencil had grown SO vile
that Mr.. Harmon, the owner of the
house, decided to make an investiga-
ton. He got on the fire escape and
peered into the womens' room. He
saw both women lying dead on the
bed, which was despatched with
blood. Maggots crawled over the
sheets. The man rushed for the pc.
lice, and a blacksmith burst open
the door. Disinfectants were spread
about and an investigation was
made. The women had been lying
dead since Monday. A razor and
an empty laudanum bottle were on n
chair beside the bed. Half stupefied
by poison probably, and insensible
to pain, the women had cut the ar
teries at their elbows and ankles and
bled to death locked in each others
arms. Death had unloosened their
grip and they lay side by side fac
ing each other. Letters found on
table beside the bed showed they
had carefully considered the plan of
suicide and decided TO die together.
The envelopes containing them
were soaked with blood that the adj
dress was almost illegible. The po-
lice made it out to be.
"Miss F. I'll. Weed,
No IL, West Twelfth ST.
Miss Weed is daughter of the
late Thurber Weed and the Paynes
were known to be old friends of the
Weed family.
One of the letters said:
"Miss Ii. A. Weed;'
"DEAR FRIEND:-If anything hap
pens that we are both found dead
will you see that we are buried in
Albany Rural Cemetery, in oxen
caskets. Mr.. James A. Burns, Of
the cemetery knows where our lot is.
My mother has $19l in the Blocker
street Savings Bank. / have money
in the above bank, and also in the
Bowery Savings Bank, and the dry
dock in Third avenue. These
amounts will pay all funeral ex-
penses.
We have pinched and saved mon
ey for little homestead, but that is
all hopeless now. We are both help
less now as to our minds. We are
not fit to care for ourselves. The
contents of our house is to be given
TO the poor.
Another letter said "We are both
of us, my mother and l, insane and
dread the mad house. We want to
be with our family Tell our rela-
tives where we lie. Our relatives
are Henry Martin, "a Seelye avenue,
Cleveland. o.; S. M. Talbot, Will
loughby, Lake county, O.. Julia A.
Mansfield, Chautauqua, N. ""
The Payne family have lived in
the house upwards Of three years.
They were quiet, gentle women.
Mrs. Payne was widow about go
years old. Her daughter was
about 35 years old. and was teach
err in the East Side public school. 1t
was not known by the neighbors
that there was anything unusual
about the women.